Karolina Staniak PhD Eng.

A graduate of the Faculty of Chemistry at the Warsaw University of Technology (2013). In May 2020, she obtained PhD in biological sciences at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, with distinction, for her thesis entitled: „The role of lysosome and autophagy in cancer cell response to tacrine-melatonin heterodimer”. Principal investigator and co-investigator in research projects focused on the study of senescence and its role in cancer cell response to chemotherapy, as well as on the development of diagnostic technology for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer (NCN, FET Open H2020, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation). Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Advanced Materials and Technologies CEZAMAT at Warsaw University of Technology.

• Studies of direct (contact-based) and indirect (signaling) cell interactions, as well as analysis of cellular processes (such as metabolism, secretion, and autophagy) in response to anticancer agents
• Investigation of the senescence of cancer cells – analysis of cell phenotype, and changes at the level of gene expression, proteins, and cellular structures
• Identification of new universal cellular markers for the design of diagnostic and therapeutic systems
• Study of cell interactions in Organ-on-Chip models

• Kasarla S., Staniak K., Surman M., Zajączkowski K., Targońska A., Mosieniak G., Bobecka-Wesołowska K., Uskoba J., Przybyło M., Kobiela T. „Multimodal Nanobiophysical Profiling of Melanoma-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles Reveals Glycan Signatures Associated with Tumor Progression.” Nanotechnol Sci Appl. 2025;18:499-514
• Głuchowska A., Bojakowski K., Janiszewska D., Staniak K., Dudkowska M., Mosieniak G. “A Signature of Senescence Based on An Analysis of Selected Markers in Primary Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Cultured In Vitro and Derived from Atherosclerotic Plaque.” Aging Dis. 2025 doi: 10.14336/AD.2025.0687.
• Buko T.*, Staniak K.*, Dudkowska M., Janiszewska D., Dębowska D., Gadecka A., Bielak-Zmijewska A. “Anillin Recedes in p53-Dependent Senescence of Tumor Cells and Reappears in Cells Escaping from Senescence.” Aging Dis. 2025. doi: 10.14336/AD.2025.0402.
• Want A., Staniak K., Grabowska-Pyrzewicz W., Fesiuk A., Barczak A., Gabryelewicz T., Kulczyńska- Przybik A., Mroczko B., Wojda U. “Optimized RT-qPCR and a novel normalization method for validating circulating miRNA biomarkers in ageing-related diseases.” Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):20869
• Strzeszewska-Potyrała A., Staniak K., Czarnecka-Herok. J, Rafiee M., Herok M., Mosieniak G., Krijgsveld J., Sikora E. „Chromatin-Directed Proteomics Identifies ZNF84 as a p53-Independent Regulator of p21 in Genotoxic Stress Response.” Cancers 2021, 13(9):2115
• Bojko A., Staniak K., Sunderland P., Czarnecka-Herok J.A., Sunderland P., Dudkowska M., Śliwińska M.A., Salmina K., Sikora E. “Improved autophagic flux in escapers from doxorubicin-induced senescence/polyploidy of breast cancer cells.” Int J Mol Sci 2020, 21(17):6084
• Salmina K., Bojko A., Inashkina I., Staniak K., Dudkowska M., Podlesniy P., Rumnieks F., Vainshelbaum N.M., Pjanova D., Sikora E., Erenpreisa J. "Mitotic Slippage" and Extranuclear DNA in Cancer Chemoresistance: A Focus on Telomeres. Int J Mol Sci. 2020, 21(8):2779
• Kucharewicz (Staniak) K., Dudkowska M., Zawadzka A., Ogrodnik M., Szczepankiewicz A. A., Czarnocki Z., Sikora E. „Simultaneous induction and blockade of autophagy by a single agent.” Cell Death and Disease 2018,9(3):353